The Importance of a Healthy IT Hiring Budget

The Importance of a Healthy IT Hiring Budget It’s no secret that the tech industry is extremely competitive when it comes to landing talent. Because of the state of IT and the field’s skills shortage, budgets have become one of the most talked about topics when looking at hiring for the next quarter or year. That means hiring managers are often in desperate need of tech pros regardless of cost, while HR or Talent Acquisition is tasked with keeping the company’s spend from ballooning out of control. It’s a fine balance, but the execution of your business’ tech goals depend on a healthy IT hiring budget

Understanding Market Rates and ROI

First and foremost, an IT hiring budget relies on the going market rates for tech talent. Whether it’s through research online, by talking to peers in other organizations, or turning to professionals for help, it’s necessary to understand where the market rates stand for the open roles at hand. In IT, there is simply no way to win with lowball offers, because candidates know what they are worth and will not hesitate to accept a competitor’s offer.

Executing on a sub-par hiring budget can have significant consequences across the business. Hiring managers will sometimes sacrifice quality in order to meet their budget requirements. However, when only two Developers are hired for a job that requires four (or lower- level professionals are brought on for a job that far outreaches their skillset), sacrifices will have to be made. Projects then go incomplete, miss deadlines, or are executed poorly, and the cost is even higher. This is partly why employers across the U.S. are raising their salary budgets by 3% each year.

The key is to focus on the ROI of landing top talent and not on initial cost when creating the IT hiring budget. Will you spend more than you initially wanted up front? Possibly. But when your company is fully staffed, it sets up everyone for success in reaching business objectives and an overall better financial state. It’s just like mixing concrete when building the foundation of a house. If less water is used than necessary, then anything built on top of it will be unstable at best.

Communication with Hiring Managers Is Imperative

When those who set and carry out IT hiring budgets are not the managers who will be directly supervising talent in the role, which is often, it means a strong level of communication is required internally. Many hiring frustrations are caused by an internal disconnect where one party sees figures on paper that they believe will work while another sees something entirely different in practice. When hiring managers are involved with the creation of a hiring budget, they can give their input on what they are seeing and hearing on the frontlines each and every day and become an accurate barometer of how market rates might be moving.

Consultants Can Improve IT Budgets

Since the average full-time tech pro salary is $91,398, a hiring budget that must account for the salaries of permanent tech hires will inevitably be stretched thin. However, as technology evolves, so too does the makeup of the workforce. With the rising gig economy, IT consultants are becoming more prevalent and can provide an affordable option for obtaining top tech pros for the life of a limited project. This allows for less of an overall financial commitment and can improve agility tremendously. While managing a large contingent workforce can also become a headache, partnering with an experienced MSP can take that burden off your hands.

Budgets Are More Than Salary

Finally, IT hiring budgets must consider more than just salary. In the competitive state of IT, it takes time and resources to get the attention and interest of a tech pro. In fact, studies show that average cost-per-hire amounts to $4,129. Not only does it cost money to advertise a position, offer employees referrals, and appropriately screen candidates, but there are additional costs such as providing a new computer, software licenses, health insurance, and more. Every detail must be considered so that a hiring budget can be realistically created and adhered to.

The Importance of a Healthy IT Hiring Budget

Even though few enjoy working through hiring budgets, it’s something that must be done for any organization serious about hiring tech talent. Of course, even for those with seemingly unlimited budgets, it still won’t be easy to recruit the best tech pros. At the end of the day, partnering with a proven IT staffing firm can be the solution you need to hire talent quickly and under budget.